Mannheim Steamroller at the Eccles

I absolutely love Mannheim Steamroller but it has been a few years since I last saw them in concert.  Tickets to this year's shows at the Eccles Theatre sold out very quickly so I was thrilled when another show was added and I immediately got a ticket.  However, when the ticket arrived in the mail, I realized that the show was for 3:30 in the afternoon!  I had to leave school as soon as the bell rang yesterday but I made it in time and I thoroughly enjoyed myself!  Chip Davis created Mannheim Steamroller as a fusion between classical and contemporary music and I especially love his arrangements of Christmas music.  The concert began with "Celebration," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," "Catching Snowflakes On Your Tongue," "Mere Image," "Hallelujah," "Angels We Have Heard On High," "Greensleeves," and "Christmas Lullaby."  I felt so lucky to be able to hear my favorite Christmas song for the third time this season when they played "Cantique De Noel (O Holy Night)."  It is such a beautiful version of the song and it gave me goosebumps!  I also really loved the song "Fairies" because it is a rock and roll version of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from the Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky.  They ended the first half of the concert with "Carol of the Bells" which is one of their most popular songs.  After the intermission they played "Wonders" from their latest album, Exotic Spaces.  This wasn't a Christmas song but I really liked it.  In honor of the 35th Anniversary of their first Christmas album, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, they performed all of the songs on it in order!  This made me so happy because I have probably listened to that album hundreds of times and I love every song, including "Deck the Halls," "We Three Kings," "Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella" (I have now heard this song performed three times this season, as well), "Coventry Carol," "Good King Wenceslas," "Wassail, Wassail," "Carol of the Birds," "I Saw Three Ships," "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen," and "Stille Nacht (Silent Night)."  This concert was so wonderful and it was just what I needed after a difficult day at school (I am counting the days until winter break)!  The concert tomorrow night at the Eccles is sold out but I definitely recommend checking them out if they come to SLC again!

A Christmas Carol at HCT 2019

I like to joke that I have seen Hale Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol so many times that I could stand in for any part! I have seen it so many times that I sometimes think I should probably skip a year. That is what I decided last year but at the beginning of December I started to feel sad that I would be missing it. I tried to buy tickets but there were absolutely none to be had! There was not even one available seat for any of the shows! I was devastated that I wouldn't get to see it but I learned my lesson! Traditions are important and you better believe that I got my ticket to this year's production months in advance! I went last night and I loved it more that I usually do. Hale's version of this classic tale about Ebenezer Scrooge's redemption after visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future is so heartwarming that you just can't help but leave the theatre with a smile on your face and a giant dose of Christmas cheer! Some of the actors return year after year to the same role so it is like seeing an old friend on the stage. I have seen David Weekes as Scrooge and Adam Dietlein as Fred for many years and I always love their performances. It is also really fun to see someone new give a different interpretation of a character. This year was the first time seeing DRU as the Ghost of Christmas Present (he has played the role several times but, as the show is double cast, I have never gone on a night when he was performing) and I thought he was hilarious! I think my favorite aspect of Hale's production is the use of Christmas carols throughout (have I mentioned how much I love hearing Christmas music?). I especially love it when they sing "Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella" at the Fezziwig Christmas party! I also loved the song "Away in a Manger" this year because the family singing it had a real baby (and that baby already has a great stage presence because it was so well-behaved).  Because this show is now on the Jewel Box Stage (which is more traditional than the old stage) there were some new sets that I really liked because they had a very Victorian feel, especially Scrooge's counting house, Scrooge's bed chamber, and the rag and bottle shop.  I am so glad that I was able to see A Christmas Carol this year (every show is sold out again this year) because it just isn't Christmas without it.

Note:  Even though A Christmas Carol is sold out you can still get tickets to Seussical on the Main Stage (go here).  It was not really my cup of tea but children are sure to love it and it would be a really fun Christmas outing for families.

Richard Jewell

I distinctly remember the events surrounding the bombing at Centennial Park during the 1996 Atalanta Olympics (I love the Olympics so I usually watch continuous coverage) but I didn't really remember what happened with Richard Jewell, the security guard who became the prime suspect, so I was really eager to see his story portrayed in the movie Richard Jewell last night.  Clint Eastwood as a director is really hit or miss with me but I ended up liking this movie.  After he is fired for being overzealous as a campus security guard, Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) takes a job as a security guard at Centennial Park during the Olympics.  During a concert at the park, Jewell finds an unattended backpack in his area and, despite the fact that no one else finds it suspicious, he calls it into the bomb squad and tries to evacuate the area.  When the pipe bombs inside the backpack explode, wounding hundreds and killing two, he is credited with saving thousands of other lives.  However, FBI Agent Tom Shaw (Jon Hamm) develops a profile of the perpetrator as a white male who is obsessed with law enforcement and yearns to be a hero and, since Jewell fits that profile, he becomes a suspect.  Journalist Kathy Scruggs (Olivia Wilde) discovers that Jewell is a suspect and writes a damning article about him.  Soon he and his mother (Kathy Bates) are harassed by the FBI and the media causing him to turn to down-and-out attorney Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell) to defend him.  I found the story to be very compelling and, as I mentioned, I enjoyed learning what ultimately happened to Jewell because I didn't know his story.  The ensemble cast is outstanding but I was particularly impressed with Hauser's performance because he makes Jewell so sympathetic with a powerful stand up and cheer moment at the end.  I did, however, find the message about Jewell's innocence to be a bit heavy-handed and one sided.   I didn't like the way that Shaw and Scruggs are portrayed because they are almost caricatures of villains who are out to get Jewell personally.  Shaw (an amalgamation of several real-life characters) is totally unscrupulous and violates several laws to trick Jewell into cooperating while Scruggs sleeps with sources to get information and has someone else write her copy.  This movie would be more powerful if it was objective rather than skewed to fit a certain narrative.  Ultimately, I did like this movie and I would recommend it.

Queen & Slim

Yesterday I finally got to see Queen & Slim, a movie that has been on my list for a really long time!  I usually enjoy movies that feature some kind of social commentary but I was surprised by how much I loved this.  A black man (Daniel Kaluuya) and a black woman (Jodie Turner-Smith) who have been matched by Tinder have a first date that does not go very well because she is uptight and he is deeply religious.  As he is driving her home, they are stopped by a white police officer for a minor traffic violation and the situation quickly escalates.  As the officer attempts to arrest the man, who has done nothing wrong, the woman, who is a lawyer, interferes and is shot in the leg.  In the ensuing scuffle, the man grabs the gun and kills the officer in self-defense.  He is traumatized by what he has done and wants to turn himself in but she, as a lawyer, knows that a black man accused of killing a cop won't get any justice so she demands that they go on the run.  The footage from the police camera goes viral so they decide to go to Florida and try find a way to Cuba.  As they travel through the rural South, they are helped by the people they encounter and soon realize that they have become reluctant folk heroes.  This movie is sometimes very difficult to watch but it is also beautiful and very powerful.  The audience does not learn the backstories of the two main characters until almost the third act (we don't even learn their names until the final scenes and neither of the nicknames in the title are ever used) but this works because they are essentially archetypes for the black experience.  I found their transformation fascinating because they are only able to find a measure of happiness and freedom when they abandon the roles they have been playing all of their lives (which makes their choice at the end, while shattering, at least understandable).  I loved the structure of the narrative because, while there are some really tense and desperate scenes where they have to elude capture, most of the action involves poignant moments between the two characters. I especially enjoyed a scene at a blues club where she finally lets down her guard.  Kaluuya and Turner-Smith give riveting and highly sympathetic performances and I found myself willing them to succeed while waiting for the outcome I knew was coming.  This movie features beautiful cinematography, atmospheric lighting, and a message that is both provocative and profound.  I was very moved by it and highly recommend it.

Kurt Bestor at the Eccles

I have certainly been getting my fill of Christmas music this season because I went to yet another Christmas concert last night (the third in four days for those of you who are playing along at home).  This time it was the Kurt Bestor Christmas concert at the Eccles Theatre.  I think that Bestor can sometimes be really full of himself but I love his arrangements of Christmas carols and he always puts on a great show!  He was center stage at the piano (he also played the flugelhorn and harmonica) and was backed by a fantastic band and orchestra.  He began with "Suite De Noel" and continued with his arrangements of "Joy to the World," "Carol of the Bells," "What Child Is This," "Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella" (a favorite of mine from when I was in the Westminster College Choir), "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "O Little Town of Bethlehem,"and "Let It Snow."  Then he brought his special guest, world-renowned tenor Nathan Pacheco, to the stage to perform his arrangement of "I Wonder as I Wander" and this was incredibly beautiful.  Pacheco's voice is so powerful that he just about blew the roof off the Eccles Theatre!  He next played "Christmas Concerto for Woodwinds" which is a fun medley of lots of different Christmas carols and it features musician Ray Smith on a variety of woodwind instruments.  I've been to Bestor's concerts before and whenever he performs this piece, Smith likes to add a new instrument (it originally began with 20).  Last night he attempted 38 different instruments to break the Guinness World Record (apparently he did it!).  After the intermission, Bestor performed the song that he is best known for, "Prayer of the Children," and he featured three members of the One Voice Children's Choir.  It was beautiful and everyone around me was crying by the end of it (I may or may not have been crying, too).  Next, he played his version of "Christmas Time Is Here" from A Charlie Brown Christmas (including a Charlie Brown tree).  Nathan Pacheco returned to the stage to perform "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful" and "Winter Wonderland" which were lovely.  My very favorite Christmas song is "O Holy Night" and every year I always hope that I can hear it performed live.  This year I got a bonus performance because Pacheco sang a beautiful arrangement and I absolutely loved it!  He gave me goosebumps!  Bestor then dedicated his version of "Still, Still, Still" to his father who passed away this year (this is another favorite from my choir days).  He brought an audience member to the stage to read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to his accompaniment, as he does every year, and it was quite amusing because he chose the same man to read it last year!  He ended the set with "Silent Night" and then performed a rousing version of "Ding Dong Merrily On High" for the encore.  This concert included so many of my favorites and I thoroughly enjoyed it!